Friday, August 30, 2013

The mysterious hidden lake of Bukit Gombak

Following my earlier posting of a video clip of the stream flowing from Bukit Gombak, my friend SK Yum sent me some pictures he took while exploring Bukit Gombak with his children a year ago.

He was surprised to find a lake at the top of the hill. The lake is the source where the stream flows endlessly till this day.

Here are the pictures he took of the stream and lake.
Read on further to learn some surprising facts about this lake.











My sincere thanks to Yum Shoen Keng for providing the personal photos above.


Though the lake has been there for as long as most Bukit Gombak town residents have lived there, the lake was only formed in the late 1970s.
This was when the government closed all the granite quarries in Singapore, (except for Gali Batu) and restricted quarrying offshore to Pulau Ubin.

The lake was formed when water started to fill the pit that was the old SENG CHEW Granite Quarry at Jalan Perang. It continues to fill till this day.

The stream that flows out from this lake acts as an overflow vent to drain excess water should the lake fill to the brim, which happens during intense rainfall. Otherwise, the lake is constantly fed by the natural Gombak springs.

Though not officially restricted as an out-of-bounds area, the lake is cordoned off due to the danger of sudden drop offs. NParks does not encourage visitors there as it is undeveloped with hidden dangers.

The old Jalan Perang Taoist Temple.
In the olden days, there used to be several shrines and one major Taoist temple along Jalan Perang.
The Jalan Perang Taoist temple was noted by residents near and far for its effective talismans given out at this temple.  This Taoist temple also had waters springing from Bukit Gombak which were eagerly collected by worshippers for its 'magical' or spiritual qualities. This temple and all the minor shrines at Jalan Perang were demolished during the construction of Bukit Gombak New Town.




Sorry I am not able to elaborate more on the Taoist temple
(I am not taoist and depended on hearsay for info on it).




Related links:
The old Gombak Nature Trail photos
Streams at Bukit Gombak
Bukit Gombak Nature Trail article





5 comments:

  1. Learnt something new from your blog again today.

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  2. The "downstream" end of the stream points to some shophouses across the road and one of these is Lee & Koh Clinic. My wife always say that it was good fengshui - water flowing towards the clinic. They are our family GP and I bring my children there, just as my mum used to bring me to Dr Rajah in the "old days" - oh, how I dread those visits. Quite different experience for my children - Nicholas love talking to Dr Lee. Dr Lee is also very patient with the children and will speak directly with them.

    And each time we go to the running tracks at the Gombak Stadium, I would stop there and let the children admire the "waterfall" and this is where I give them their first lessons about water, streams, rivers....:)

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  3. oh! there was a corresponding stream on the other side of Hillview Ave near to the community centre in the olden days. I remember within the Gombak hill/Mindef compound, there is another abandoned Quarry.

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  4. The water flowing down before the hdb was build... Just opposite the petrol kiosk.. There used to be a flowing water down and taxi drivers would be there to use the water for car wash

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    1. Yes, you are right. The car washing went on for many years even after the HDB flats were occupied. I went there only once to wash my car out of curiosity. It was a bit difficult to get the fresh clean water from the drain. The best was to use a small container to collect while it was flowing down and scoop it into your bigger bucket.
      Here's a secret...there's another free fresh clean water source that's still being used by drivers even up to today. The water this time is from the lake at BBNP! It's flowing out from the pond into the heavy vehicle park drain. Ssshhh.

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